Posted by Brigham and Women's Hospital October 13, 2015

BWH plastic surgeons are offering new breast reconstruction options that use a patient’s own thigh tissue.

Plastic surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) are now offering women several new options for natural breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

These new autologous (own tissue) procedures – PAP (profunda artery perforator), TUG (transverse upper gracilis), and DUG (diagonal upper gracilis) flap reconstruction – are typically reserved for patients who do not have enough tissue in their abdomen for reconstruction or who have already had abdominal surgery. Each option involves taking a complete flap of tissue – including skin, fat, and its accompanying blood supply – from the patient’s own leg and transferring it to the chest to create a new breast.

Women are increasingly turning to these and other types of autologous reconstruction as alternatives to reconstruction with artificial implants. Chief among the reasons for this trend is that flap procedures give women the opportunity to have a reconstructed breast with a natural look and feel that lasts. Because they’re biologic, soft tissue reconstructions evolve with the patient. As a woman loses weight, gains weight, or ages, the reconstructed breast tends to respond in proportion to the rest of the body.

Posted by Brigham and Women's Hospital April 21, 2014

Gillian and her family hope that the Stepping Strong Fund helps others with traumatic injuries.

Imagine a world where patients with severe limb injuries – like survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings – could hope for better recoveries, with muscle, cartilage, and bone regenerated.

That vision draws closer every day, according to Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) researchers. They are hopeful that a new initiative, the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund, will fuel breakthroughs for patients with traumatic, athletic, military, and disease-related injuries.

A year ago, Audrey Epstein Reny and Steven Reny were standing near the Boston Marathon finish line with their daughter Gillian, cheering on the runners and waiting for their oldest daughter Danielle to cross. When the bombs went off, the Renys were among the many innocent bystanders who were injured, Gillian critically.

The family was rushed to BWH, where clinicians worked to save Gillian’s life — and both of her legs. On that tragic day, dozens of patients were treated at BWH for similar injuries.